Unit 1 Module 1: History of Psychology

Ancient Philosophy

Socrates (469 BC)

• Believed the mind and body were separate.
  
  

• Knowledge is innate.
  
  

• Learning is a process of inner reflection to discover the knowledge within us.
  
  

Aristotle (469 BC)

• Believed knowledge is gained through experience.
  
  

Birth of Modern Science

• The Scientific Revolution during the Renaissance revived the debate on innate knowledge vs. knowledge from environment.
  
  

Rene Descartes (1595-1650)

• Dualism: Mind and body are separate.
  
  

• The mind transcends death.
  
  

• Wondered how the mind and body communicated.
  
  

Development of Empiricism

John Locke (1632-1704)

• Tabula Rasa: The mind is a blank slate at birth (connected to Aristotle).
  
  

• We are shaped by experience.
  
  

• Locke’s ideas, combined with those of Francis Bacon, led to Empiricism.
  
  

Empiricism

• Knowledge originates in experience.
  
  

• Science should rely on observation and experimentation.
  
  

Modern Psychology

Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920)

• Known as the Father of Experimental Psychology.
  
  

• Believed mind and behavior could be studied scientifically.
  
  

• Sought to measure the most basic mental processes.
  
  

• Conducted the first laboratory experiments in Leipzig, Germany in December 1879.
  
  

• Set the precedent for psychology as a science rooted in research.
  
  

• Proved that mental processes can be measured.
  
  

G. Stanley Hall

• Student of Wundt.
  
  

• Started the first psychology lab in the U.S. at Johns Hopkins University in 1883.
  
  

• First president of the APA.
  
  

• Studied developmental psychology and was influential in that field.
  
  

Structuralism and Functionalism

Edward Bradford Titchener (1867-1927)

• Student of Wundt.
  
  

• Believed we needed to go beyond the observable.
  
  

• Introduced Structuralism.
  
  

• Sought to discover the structural elements of the mind.
  
  

• Used introspection: Reflecting inward on experiences and reporting them.
  
  

Functionalism

• William James (1842-1910)
  
  

  • Wanted to understand the how and why of mental processes and behavior.
    
    

  • Influenced by Darwin, focused on how thinking is adaptive.
    
    

  • Believed behavior patterns repeat because they are successful.
    
    

  • Published one of the first psychology texts: The Principles of Psychology.
    
    

Important Ladies in Psychology

• Mary Whiton Calkins
  
  

  • Refused a PhD at Harvard.
    
    

  • First female president of the APA.
    
    

• Margaret Floy Washburn
  
  

  • First female PhD at Cornell.
    
    

  • Second female APA president.
    
    

Freud and Psychoanalytic Theory

• Focused on the unconscious mind.
  
  

• Did not conduct experimental research, relied on case studies.
  
  

• Believed in internal conflict between values and desires.
  
  

• Emphasized sex and aggression.
  
  

• Early childhood events shape later behavior.
  
  

Behaviorism

• John B. Watson & B.F. Skinner
  
  

  • Dismissed introspection.
    
    

  • Focused on observable behavior as more scientific.
    
    

  • Rooted in empiricism.
    
    

  • Believed behavior is learned through conditioning.
    
    

Humanism

• Carl Rogers & Abraham Maslow
  
  

  • Believed psychodynamic and behavioral approaches were too limiting.
    
    

  • Emphasized that people are unique and distinct from animals.
    
    

  • Believed people are inherently good.
    
    

  • Introduced the concept of free will.
    
    

  • Focused on how the environment impacts human growth potential (self-actualization).
    
    

Cognitive Psychology

• Jean Piaget & Albert Ellis
  
  

  • Focused on thoughts and thought processes.
    
    

  • Studied how we perceive, process, and remember information.
    
    

  • Also studied language.